As an interface for connecting a communication cable to communication equipments, a modular connector is used in many cases. Such a modular connector includes a pair of modular jack and modular plug so that a cable connection is achieved by inserting the modular plug into the modular jack.
Particularly, in recent communication equipments, because many communication cables must be connected to a communication equipment to construct a network such as a local area network (LAN), a connection using a modular connector, which allows a quick and reliable connection, has become mainstream. Moreover, a number of communication cables is increased with an increase in the size and functions of an equipment to which communication cables are connected, which results in an increase in the number of modular jacks mounted to an equipment.
In a case where a network is newly constructed by installing communication equipments or a network is restructured by changing communication equipments, communication cables must be connected to the communication equipments or disconnected from the communication equipments. That is, it is required to carry out an operation to attach modular plugs attached to ends of communication cables to modular jacks provided to the communication equipments or detach the modular plugs from the modular jacks.
The operation of attaching a modular plug to a modular jack can be achieved by merely inserting the modular plug into the modular jack. When the modular plug is inserted into the modular jack, a lock mechanism of the modular plug is operated to fix the modular plug to be in a state connected to the modular jack. On the other hand, an operation to detach the modular plug from the modular jack is achieved by pulling the modular plug out of the modular jack while unlocking the modular plug by pressing an unlocking claw of the modular plug.
When a number of communication cables connected is increased as mentioned above, the number of modular jacks is also increased, and if the modular plugs are detached from and attached to modular jacks one after another, an operation of connecting communication cables is complicated and it takes a long time to complete connection of all communication cables. For example, if a failure occurs in an equipment or an equipment needs to be changed, a maintenance operation must be performed while stopping an operation of the equipment. Thus, if the operation to disconnect and connect communication cables takes a long time, the maintenance operation also takes a long time, which results in an increase in a time to perform a maintenance operation. For example, in a case where a maintenance operation of a communication equipment for providing a communication service to the public is must be carried out, the communication service is stopped while the operation of the equipment is stopped, which comes into a state where the communication service is not provided to many users.
Therefore, in order to shorten a time to stop an operation of a communication equipment, it is desirable to shorten a time for disconnecting and connecting communication cables in the maintenance operation as much as possible. Thus, there is suggested a tool for detaching a plurality of modular plugs from modular jacks by pressing the unlocking claws of the modular plugs at once (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-19207).
When mounting a plurality of modular jacks to an equipment, the modular jacks are usually arranged in line on a front surface or a rear surface of the equipment. If the number of modular jacks is large, intervals between the adjacent modular jacks are narrow and it is difficult to easily perform an operation to pull the modular plugs from the modular jacks while pressing the unlocking claws of the modular plugs by a finger.
In many cases, a plurality of equipments having a reduced thickness are stacked one on another in a rack in multiple stages. In such a case, not only intervals of the modular plugs in a horizontal direction (left-to-right direction) but also intervals in a vertical direction are small. Thus, it becomes more difficult to perform an unlocking operation by pressing the unlocking claws of the modular plugs by a finger, which results in an increase in a time spent on an operation to pull and remove the modular plugs from the modular jacks.
The above-mentioned tool suggested in the Patent Document 1 to remove a plurality of modular plugs from modular jacks all together uses a mechanism to press the unlocking claws while holding the plurality of modular plugs between upper and lower adapters. Thus, if the intervals of the modular plugs in a vertical direction are narrow, the upper and lower adapters cannot be arranged above and under the modular plugs because they are blocked by the other modular plugs located above and under the modular plugs concerned and communication cables extending therefrom.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop an attaching and detaching tool, which permits an operation of attaching and detaching a plurality of modular plugs at once even if many modular jacks are arranged horizontally and vertically close to each other.